HIST341: The Silk Road and Central Eurasia

Unit 4: Opening the Silk Road Between East and WestThe opening of the Silk Road between China and the Mediterranean was
driven by two major factors. First, Han China sought to expand—and
profit from—its lucrative silk trade. Second, both the Hellenistic and
Roman worlds created an enormous demand for silk. The expansion of
Alexander the Great’s empire into Central Eurasia allowed the Greeks to
engage in the silk trade; many of the newly conquered lands had
important trade nodes along the Silk Road. During the Han Dynasty,
Chinese emperor Wu Di established commercial relationships with
Ferghana, Bactria, and the Parthian Empire—all nomadic peoples who
played central roles in the rise of the Silk Road. This new trade
spurred a “silk craze” throughout the Roman Empire as well as the
dispatch of Roman envoys to China.

In this unit, we will study the expansionist impulses of Han China,
the Romans, and the Greeks—all of whom garnered territory in Central
Eurasia along the Silk Road. In fact, as we will see, the silk trade
played a significant role in the territorial expansion of these powers.

Unit 4 Time Advisory
This unit will take you approximately 6 hours to complete.

☐ Subunit 4.1: 3 hours

☐ Subunit 4.2: 3 hours

Unit4 Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

- Describe some of the major political events that led to greater
economic exchange between Asia and Europe and thus expanded the
length and importance of the Silk Road.
- Identify key milestones in the development and history of the empire
created from the conquests of Alexander the Great.
- Describe the rise of Rome and its role in fostering trade along the
Silk Road.

4.1 The Hellenistic Era4.1.1 Alexander the Great’s Empire
- Reading: Fordham University’s Ancient History Sourcebook: Paul
Halsall's version of “Arrian: Speech of Alexander the Great, from
Campaigns of Alexander”
Link: Fordham University’s AncientHistory Sourcebook: Paul
Halsall's version of “Arrian: Speech of Alexander the Great, from
Campaigns of
Alexander”
(PDF)

Instructions: Please read the entire excerpt. In this speech,
Alexander the Great commends his troops for their success in
conquering territories in the Middle East and Central Eurasia.
Indeed, Alexander notes that the Hellenistic World had never before
covered such an immense and varied territory—it stretched from the
Mediterranean to Bactria in Central Eurasia.

Terms of Use: The material above s available for viewing in the
public domain.

Reading: University of Washington’s “Art of the Silk Road”
Exhibit: Carol G. Thomas's “Alexander and the Silk Road”
Link: University of Washington’s “Art of the Silk Road” Exhibit:
Carol G. Thomas's “Alexander and the Silk
Road”
(HTML)

Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety. This text
discusses how Alexander and the Silk Road transformed each other.
On the one hand, Alexander helped to shape the future of the Silk
Road through his policy of establishing settlements along it; on the
other, the Silk Road facilitated Alexander’s conquering advances.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

4.1.2 Alexander and Asia: An Archaeological View of Cultural
Exchange
- Reading: The Silkroad Foundation’s The Silk Road Journal:
Professor Yang Juping of Nankai University’s “Alexander the Great
and the Emergence of the Silk Road”
Link: The Silkroad Foundation’s The Silk Road Journal: Professor
Yang Juping of Nankai University’s “Alexander the Great and the
Emergence of the Silk
Road”

Instructions: Scroll down to the bottom of the webpage for Volume
6, Number 2 of The Silk Road Journal, and select “click here” to
download the PDF of the journal. Please read Professor Yang
Juping’s entire article (pages 15-19 and notes/about the author on
pages 20-22). This text builds upon the information contained in
the source above and indicates how scholars have used archaeology to
reveal cultural interactions in those parts of Asia conquered by
Alexander the Great, as well as the significance of Alexander’s
empire for the development of the Silk Road.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Please read this text and all embedded links in their
entirety. Pay special attention to the sections “The Greeks in
Egypt: 332-30 BC” and “The Ptolemaic Inheritance: 285 BC.”

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

4.1.4 The Seleucid Empire and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
- Reading: University of Washington’s “Art of the Silk Road”
Exhibit: “The Seleucid Empire”
Link: University of Washington’s “Art of the Silk Road” Exhibit:
“The Seleucid
Empire”
(HTML)

Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety. The Seleucid
Empire was created out of the eastern conquests of the former
Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, and spanned from the
Aegean Sea to what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety. In this text,
Professor Waugh discusses Roman trade with India and South and
Southeast Asia.

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displayed on the webpage above.

4.2.1 Conquest of Egypt and New Eastern Contact
- Reading: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Heilbrunn Timeline of
Art History:” The Department of Egyptian Art and The Department of
Greek and Roman Art's “Roman Egypt”
Link: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Heilbrunn Timeline of Art
History:” The Department of Egyptian Art and THe Department of Greek
and Roman Art's “Roman
Egypt” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety. This text
narrates how, for the first century following the Roman conquest,
Egypt functioned in the Mediterranean world as an active and
prosperous Roman province.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety. This text
discusses the animosities between the Romans and the Parthian
Empire. Pay special attention to the causes and consequences of
their rivalries.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Please read all the sections on this page, beginning
with “Relations with Rome.” This text will introduce you to major
developments in Roman-Chinese trade as well as the creation and
progress of the two empires’ diplomatic relations.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety. As indicated
in subunit 2.3, trade between Asia and other parts of the world was
conducted not only overland, but by sea as well. The present
reading indicates how the expansion of the Roman Empire promoted the
formation of maritime trade routes linking the Mediterranean and
Asia that continued to rise in importance in subsequent eras -- A
development that had major implications for the history of the Silk
Road.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.